A research team led by Zhang Zhisheng from Southwest University recently discovered two new species of spiders on Jinyun Mountain in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. 

The two species have been named Trilacuna jinyun Tong, Zhang & Li, 2021 and Trilacuna jiuchi Tong, Zhang & Li, 2021. The discovery was published in the European Journal of Taxonomy.

According to Zhang, who heads the Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region at Southwest University, the team collected specimens of the two spiders but due to their tiny size – less than 3 millimeters in diameter – it was difficult to identify their species. 

After cooperating with experts from Shenyang Normal University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology, it was finally possible to identify the specimens as two new species of spiders from the genus Trilacuna.

(All photos via CFP)

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